If you don't like what you get ... sue! School districts across the country have taken that approach, and the Tax Foundation reports that the results aren't always favorable--even for schools.

Since 1977, courts in 27 states have rendered decisions that have resulted in spending increases of $34 billion. Showing perhaps that class-warfare ideas are waning in importance, the tactics of the give-us-more crowd have changed from equity grounds to suitability. That is, early suits were based on the notion that mere discrepancies in spending levels was bad. Later suits have succeeded by arguing that states aren't spending enough for an "adequate" or "suitable" education.

The Tax Foundation report doesn't get into the magic by which judges determine the "right" amount of money that legislators should spend. Instead, it looks at changes in spending for both recurring and capital expenses.

A few interesting points stand out:

• The actual cost of compliance varies greatly across states, from a low of $16 per pupil to a high of $6,648.
• Nine states have explicitly raised taxes to comply with court mandates.
• Eighteen states are spending less on recurring expenses than would have been expected from historic trends.
• However, the lawsuits may be leading states to spending more money on capital expenses that they would have.

In other words, less money for teachers; more money for building contractors.

Aren't lawsuits great for education?